Books: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

[holdouttrout]

I'm only halfway through this book, and I already know it's dangerous. Like all of Kingsolver's books (the ones I've read, that is), she lures you in by way of a brilliant setting, interesting characters, the perfection of anecdotes, and then pounces. You're left lying in the dust, helpless, while she brandishes her point over you. The worst part, of course, is that she isn't trying to skewer you--she just holds out the weapon and lets you take it yourself.

And you WANT to.



Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is about how she and her family resolved to eat responsibly and locally for an entire year. Simple concept? Yes. Idealized? Almost certaintly. Fascinating as heck? Oh, yeah.

The book is filled with triumphs of the garden, of farms, and warnings about the calamitous use of pesticides everywhere, and the fossil fuels we abuse by transporting inferior vegetables and fruits around the world. Her family's life was an exercise in creative eating--defining and appreciating a local cuisine without depriving themselves in order to prove a point.

Some of this stuff I already knew--I HAVE been thinking about how wonderful fresh carrots can taste, recently, and it's making me go a little crazy, planning out gardens I have no room for and no aptitude for and no knowledge base for. How do people get things to grow? I've never been quite sure.

The dangerous part of the book isn't how she talks about growing asparagus or making pizza from scratch or yes, making your own cheese. The dangerous part is in how reasonable she makes it all seem. "Oh, mozzarella can be made in an hour," she says, and you immediately start thinking about where you can get your hands on milk that isn't ulta-pasteurized. I mean, you pull it like taffy! How is that not uber-cool?

Still, all of the home-grown, slow meals, lifetime dedication to food stuff is a little out of my reach, I think--but I DID manage to make that rhubarb pie. And the spinach I bought at the farmer's market was amazing. And I have gotten better at cooking without non-stick pans.



Okay, so I'm (mostly) joking about the commune. But maybe there's hope for the cheese.

Comments

[poetressforgod.livejournal.com]

I actually would seriously consider joining a commune. i could be useful in the gardening, and making/repairing the community members' clothes, and occasional cooking. someone else can make some money somehow, lead us in spiritual growth, fix things around the house, and do more cooking. That would be fantastic.

[mrspollifax.livejournal.com]

*attempts to lock the teal deer away in the barn*

Farmers markets were my entry drug to gardening, seriously. And aren't you in a really good part of the country for markets? Anyway, that's where I sort of fell in love with the rhythm of cooking to what's in season where you are (not to mention using better ingredients). Markets can be pretty overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of what's in season when, it's much easier to menu plan and get what you want instead of just wandering around (I did a lot of wandering around, believe me).

And now you have made me want to learn to make cheese. An hour? Really? Mozzarella would go very nicely with my tomatoes and basil. (Ooh! Hey, basil is easy to grow in a pot! And pesto is fabulous! You could totally do that.)

I refuse to keep my own chickens, though, lol.

*runs off after the deer which clearly got away*

[morwen_peredhil]

After my husband and I bought our house, we quickly discovered that we both hate gardening. I wish we didn't, because I want to be the sort of person who gardens. Feh.

Now we're all about the local farmers' market and we have a CSA membership in a farm that's less than fifteen minutes away.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

You know, one of the nicest parts of this book is that Kingsolver makes it clear that not everyone is cut out for gardening and/or farming. Which makes me feel MUCH better, thank you. It'll probably take me years to even begin, and there's no guarantee I'll LIKE it. :-)

I need to check into meat stuff--it's way too scary to contemplate what kinds of things I'm eating in my chicken and hamburgers.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it?

Hey--if we end up true old maids, we should totally consider combining our households and giving the commune thing a run for its money.

I think the idea is just to start somewhere--make one change, see how it goes, and then head for the next idea after that.

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

I grew up in a family that gardened for years. Personally, I only consider it from time to time. The stuff that so many people adore fresh? I don't.

I don't eat tomatoes and don't care for fresh green beans or spinach (they're both 'fuzzy' and I have issues with fuzzy/furry food). Also fresh green beans squeak on my teeth when I eat them.

I know, I'm a freak. But I have considered making a raised bed and growing some squash. That might work.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Teal deer are notorious for escaping, but I rather like the looks of 'em around my place. *g*

I'm in a fantastic area for farmer's markets! There's the itty bitty one right down the street from me, and I know there's one in most of the major towns around me, too.

I hear you about the better ingredients. The first time I had freshly picked raspberries I just about DIED in sheer and utter glory. Same with any fruit, really--there's no comparison. I really need to get out and start picking this year. I've been lazy (again).

30 minute Mozzarella (http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Mozzarella.pdf). (That's a PDF or the recipe--same one that's in the book.)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Squash seems to me to be a lovely thing--I didn't like it when I was younger, but have grown into an appreciation for it.

Same with most vegetables, actually. although fresh green beans *do* squeak, and I've never liked that. Ugh.

[supplyship.livejournal.com]

I would join *your* commune. :)

My grandfather and then my dad have always had a huge garden - including orchard trees (apples, pears, plums). It's the most fabulous thing, in the summer when everything on your plate save the meat is from the garden. I grow a few things in pots at my house - mostly herbs. Container gardening is a good way to start out!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

It's things like this that are possibly the reason I find the kind of apocafic that has everyone living on farms so interesting. ;-)

It's really cool--I often don't think about where my food comes from. This is definitely changing my view on that.

[mrspollifax.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, fresh-picked fruit - that can't be beat. We're in peach country here, and ... yum. And a farmer's market right down the street sounds just lovely. =)

Thank you for the recipe! They make it sound pretty easy, don't they?

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

It really doesn't sound too hard. Mostly it's just the idea of making cheese myself that sounds intimidating.